Justice League of Amazons: Halo chapter 3

John had taken at least half a day before he was back into the grind of things. One good thing about his changes and more was that he recovered a heck of a lot faster than most people would. As he was not on call to do the donation run, he focused on helping the League out on any of their missions. Naturally since they were not in the business of killing and letting the criminals be dealt with in the justice system, he had to stick to using more non-lethal methods. Not that John was unfamiliar with such methods to be sure since he did know how to make TTR rounds and also managed to create the Stun Batons that he had to deal with back in his youth in Reach until they were no longer needed by Mendez.

As he did his work alongside Mari who at the moment was helping foil an attempt by some of the now all female robber groups attacking a nearby bank, he managed to get into the flow of things, and in most cases, he did not mind. Though he did wonder just why these women would rob a bank of all places when this was going on. Cortana naturally reminded him that greed is still an inherent human trait.

As soon as the crooks were taken away, Mari sighed a bit and looked at the now all female police force in the city of New York and spoke to the Spartan.

"It's kind of sad to see all this knowing what happened, sure there's a LOT of men who did a lot of bad and inhuman things, but all the good men or those who are just regular guys trying to make things work are dead too. New York used to be so...vibrant...now it's this."

John could tell that this was not something that was easy to accept and he nodded.

"It can be again" he said.

Mari nodded and then recalled something.

"Oh damn! I forgot that it's supposed to be the day I go and visit the others!" she exclaimed.

"The League?" John asked.

Mari shook her head and replied

"I used to be a model prior to all this John, and while I do modelling still to keep my cover, I now use a lot of my time to help keep the world from falling apart. Right now though I'm supposed to go and meet up with some of the Victoria's Secret ladies since they are doing some charity work...and I am supposed to meet with Adriana to see how she is doing after...losing Marko..." she said.

"Who?" John asked.

Any other man would have gotten utterly incredulous looks at that question since the VS Angels were very well-known, but then again, none of them could understand that not only was John a super soldier who had been in a three-decade war with aliens, a parasitic race, and rogue A.I, but also had been born in the future so he would have NO idea who they were. That and the fact he was raised in a military black ops program for eight years, only reinforced that fact. Mari naturally was one of the few that did know the full story and thus had no problem with John's reaction.

"I'll tell you along the way...but I think it would be best we get you properly cleaned up and wearing something nice for a change. Think of this as another chance to socialize since the Angels are all good people" she explained.

...

John felt rather uneasy with being told to wear a suit, it took a lot of cajoling from Cortana to finally get him into a custom made suit that mimicked the Spartan officer's uniform which he rarely wore unless it was in a non-combat situation and even then it was not something he enjoyed wearing. Cortana had explained to the League that due to constantly wearing their armour for extended periods of time, even in cryo-sleep for very practical reasons many Spartans, with the exception of Grey Team due to the need for deep cover operations outside of armour, including John felt positively naked out of their MJOLNIR and show a high level of discomfort being out of the Armor. Thus since John did trust them she asked them to stay close to John so they could help him remain relaxed.

Mari was aware of that and hoped that he would be fine as she was wearing a simple but classy light violet dress that hugged her frame and body very well. She therefore accompanied John and managed to convince him not to come armed to the party. The guards there, also female gave a nod to Mari but both naturally looked at John with interest though John remained calm and respectful.

As soon as they entered the hotel where the other Angels were, Mari homed in on Adriana and soon greeted the mother, she had met Adriana's daughters and was sad for them for losing their father. Adriana and Marko had parted on good terms when they broke up and he was still a good and loving father to his children, so it was naturally heart breaking to hear that he died and it took time for Adriana to help her children. She was right now wearing a simple white dress but still looked radiantly beautiful.

Adriana smiled a bit as she recognized Mari.

"Hey there Mari...well now...you have the Spartan with you. Not bad, saw him in the UN meeting" the Brazilian supermodel said to her.

Mari smiled at that and spoke gently to Adriana.

"How are the kids?" she asked gently.

"They're all right, still taking some time back home to unwind... I plan to visit Marko's grave in a week, let myself chat with him, you know?" Adriana replied.

"I do... listen, I'm sorry about his loss, Adriana...he was a good man."

Adriana nodded and there was some moisture in her eyes, tears most likely before she replied

"Yes he was...I at least am happy that we had our family, and even when we broke up, he was still there for them and me."

John was not unused to such emotions, more than once he had seen civilians break down after being evacuated from their fallen cities and worlds during the War. He also saw even veteran Marines, Army, ODST, Air Force, and Navy personnel break down in tears and worse after many battles. And even he had bursts of emotion as well with such loses and the worst was Sam, his friend, second in command, and brother in arms. The next was losing Johnson as well, his bad taste in music aside, he had nothing but immense respect for the Marine and losing him in the final stages was the hardest after Sam. Thus it was clear that despite his iron discipline. he still felt pain and loss...

And thus he did something unexpected, he reached out to Adriana and removed the tears in her eyes with great gentleness... this was an unexpected action to Adriana and surprised Mari as well as the other Models looking at the man. He loosened his mask of professionalism and spoke gently with a show of genuine respect.

"He is not dead...he lives in your children. So as long as they know you love them, then he in turn knows you will love him. And thus...he is not dead" he said to her.

Adriana looked at the man in surprise before saying "How do you know what it's like?" she asked curiously as she looked at the man who towered over her.

John looked down at his feet briefly before replying "In the UNSC Covenant war, I lost many friends" he replied "Two of which were my closest friends and it was hard to watch them die" he said "I see their faces in my dreams sometimes" he added not knowing why he shared that piece of information with a stranger who was a civilian by all rights.

"How did you... keep going?" Adriana asked.

"My duty was clear and my friends died defending humanity" John replied "If I let myself get dragged down by the weight of loss, I would have only dishonoured their memory" he said "They were loyal soldiers, they honoured the UNSC" he added "But the war goes on" he then said as he looked up again.

"Do you ever talk about it with someone?" Adriana asked.

"I didn't have time to see a counsellor" John said making a wry face "I'm not much of a talker" he added.

"I could tell" Adriana observed with a slight smile "Maybe you should talk to someone about the things you've seen" she suggested "It could help" she said.

"I'm sure a friend of mine would agree with that wholeheartedly" John replied thinking of Cortana.

"Would you... would you like to have a drink with me and my friends?" Adriana asked hesitantly "I promise I won't try and drug and rape you" she said jokingly.

John looked at Mari who gave a nod of encouragement and nodded his head once and allowed Adriana to lead him over to some couches where some other women whom John assumed to be models like Adriana and Mari.

"So you're the Spartan?" one of them asked; she had brown hair, hazel eyes and an African accent.

"I am ma'am" John replied.

"Don't call me ma'am! I'm not that old!" the young woman said sternly "Of course ma'am" John said automatically.

"You got a name?" a tan skinned woman with brown hair and eyes asked.

"Due to UNSC and ONI protocols, you do not have the clearance to know my name, I apologise for that" John replied.

"Well, I'm Lily" the tan skinned woman said "I'm Behati" the hazel eyed woman said.

"I'm Candice" a blonde haired blue eyed woman said introducing herself.

"I'm Alessandra" a tan skinned woman said with a Brazilian accent.

"I'm Elsa" another blonde haired blue eyed woman said with a Swedish accent and a smile that reached her eyes.

"And I take it you all work for the same company" John observed and they all nodded "So how about that drink?" Adriana asked "What would you like?"

"I don't drink normally" John replied honestly.

"Well, I'm sure you must drink something for fancy military dinners" Behati said "What would they drink? Port? Whiskey?" she asked.

"Just a soda will do" John said which made all the Angels smile and Behati asked "Afraid we'll get you drunk and have our wicked way with you?" she teased.

John merely stared at the African beauty who blushed a little under his intense stare and she began to stammer a little before the Spartan replied "No, I prefer to remain sober" he said before taking his eyes away from Behati who sighed in relief.

The chatting with the models was interesting though naturally John had to deal with his fair share of comments that had sexual innuendo in it, apparently even after the little stare down, Behati was still willing to tease him. Same with the other models as well though they were also kind enough not to take it too far. And he understood that many of the models here were not only good and charitable people but also very kind and had grieved for the loss of their own loved ones. Candice lost her own husband, and the same for Behati, Lily, and Alessandra. Thus John was able to learn a good deal about their characters.

Mari watched the progress and was pleased by all of this and while a bit jealous at seeing some of the ladies get a bit too close to John but did not let it blind her and make her be angry. And so far John was slowly getting used to this socializing, though he usually made sure to look at her discreetly and she smiled in a reassuring fashion.

The models asked John about his life and while he was able to keep from revealing too much of his actual self, he was thankful that none of them were asking him on too many details on the War. He was not keen on talking about the past and he made sure that his stance on that was clear to them, and at least they were more than willing to ask other questions of him that he could tell were not too intrusive. Namely on his favourite food, did he like sports, hobbies, and of course, if was he engaged or something.

He answered them as best he could, revealing that he was skilled in basketball, chess, word puzzles, card games, twenty questions, soccer, football, King of the Hill, and of course Grav-Ball...that brought out a rather...nostalgic look in the man's face and naturally being unaware of the kinds of sports that grew about in the reality John came from, they were curious...and asked him even Mari who was there was curious.

John naturally replied

"Think of it as a form of basketball, except said ball levitates and you play on a series of Gravity Plates in a court formation design, so basically, it takes basketball to a whole new level...literally. I played in that so well I got forbidden by the other kids in playing because I always won. UNSC Combat instructors used a more militant version in the training regimes for special occasions, helps with agility, reaction time, and accuracy" he explained.

"Oh!"

Not the most intelligent of responses but it was interesting as the models and Mari ran the image through their heads of players literally playing a form of zero-g basketball. It was kind of interesting either way. After a while the models decided to drift off and go on with their own schedules, though naturally they were eager to meet the Spartan again. Mari was pleased since it seemed that despite his still lingering issues with being out in public, he was doing all right.

However, it was here that Adriana spoke to John.

"Spartan...I know this is a bit...odd coming from me since we only just met, but if you want, I would like to meet you again and chat for a bit for a few weeks if you and the League are all right with it?" she asked.

John ran the idea in his mind a bit to make sure he did not miss any details, and also anything that could be a threat. But he also thought about what he knew so far of Adriana, she was a civilian and also a very kind hearted and strong willed person, being a single mother and raising her children along with dealing with the loss of her former husband who she still happened to be on very cordial terms with until his death. Plus she pretty much made the first move by what she did so he might as well see this through.

"I don't see any problem with that Ma'am" he replied.

Adriana smiled and was pleased, she knew it might look like she was betraying Marko to some, but she also knew that he was right, Marko lived on in her children with him, and as long as she was a mother in all aspects to them then Marko would know that she would always love him. But she was a woman still and she wanted to not be alone even if for a while. And the Spartan was a good man as far as she had seen, not easily someone who opened up but at least he was willing to try.

She was no expert on psychology but she could tell that he was very reluctant to get into deeper details. Seeing the war was partially the reason, but because he was a soldier, and no doubt one of those Black Ops types, he had his own reason to keep secrets. But she could tell that he was indeed a good man and quite literally...good men these days were hard to find.

"Thank you...though I guess I should warn you...you will be under a lot of scrutiny for a while" she warned.

John shrugged.

Adriana was not kidding in hat front as John came to visit her in one of her photo shoots and naturally the sight of the Spartan in regular clothing, at least UNSC regular clothing. Adriana was wearing some of the latest swimwear and smiled in greeting John and he gave her a nod of respect. The others who were there were happy to see that things were looking up. John remained respectful and chatted with Adriana and while he did admire how she took good care of her body, his look had no lustful inclination at all, which she was a bit thankful for as well.

After the shoot, Adriana spent time chatting with the Spartan who was willing to chat with the model and now single mother, and he spoke on some of the things he could about the UNSC prior to the war with both the Insurrection and the Covenant. So far the two were able to get along well and eventually, after a few more days of him escorting her around on her working schedules, she asked him if he was willing to accept an invitation to her home.

John was not too sure about the idea but decided that since he was on good terms with Adriana, he agreed and soon travelled to her home and soon he met her daughters. At first they were unsure of the man who was a giant to them until their mother gently spoke to them.

"It's all right, John here is a good man" she said reassuringly.

Her eldest daughter Valentina spoke to her mother seriously.

"Are you involved with him mom?" she asked.

"No... he is a friend Valentina, and I have no intentions of changing things at this time. I love you both and I still love your father."

It took a while but John managed to bond with both sisters, even though they were not too trusting of him even though they had heard about the man. They soon opened up to him in a game of basketball, and after a few more sessions of meeting the children and Adriana, the two daughters of Adriana Lima, Valentina and Sienna became more friendly with the Spartan. They began to even ask him if he intended to be closer to their mother, though John replied that it was entirely up to her and he would respect her wishes and decisions. It surprised them since prior to Aresia's plague a lot of men found their mom desirable even when she was married, even more so after she and their father Marko broke up.

Yet the Spartan was very respectful of her and them and did make any attempt to act like a father to them, but a guardian, a friend, and also someone they could talk to. Granted he never spoke of his time in the war he was a part of, nor his past life, but apart from that he was a pretty nice man and was also very capable.

It did Adriana good to see her children beginning to recover from the loss of their father and also being able to connect to a person of the opposite gender. And John was indeed a nice person, he could be distant and aloof on occasion but she guessed that it had to do with the life he led and the war he took part in. And so she did not inquire too much about his past and in some ways he seemed...thankful for that. Apart from those moments though he was a very good man and undeniably attractive to the model so she did not mind being close to him whenever she could.

The media naturally spun all manner of rumours and gossip about the two and of course his involvement with the League, some were good, others... not so much, still Adriana was used to it and John merely ignored it, though he did show some discomfort being on camera, something that Mari told her was actually natural since John preferred not to be seen a lot by the public and lauded as a hero for doing what was his job. He only showed himself to the public media to boost morale or if caught by some lucky camera doing his duty. So to him being in the public like this was grating on his nerves, this was something that Adriana was not happy about so she did her best to help John accept and ignore being in the limelight.

This went on for a while until the last day of the few weeks John could spend with the model as they were getting ready to part. Adriana had gone the extra mile and had actually cooked a nice meal for John and while she was not a fan of such foods due to her own personal diet she figured something nice was in order. John arrived and was surprised at the meal, it was not too large a meal but it was certainly delicious and filling. As they tidied up after finishing the meal Adriana was smiling as John did the dishes and soon they shared a nice drink of tea together in front of porch...thankfully the Spartan had Cortana hack into the news crew's systems so they would only get feedback loops in their videos.

As they enjoyed the calm atmosphere, Adriana spoke.

"I am pleased for the time you spent here with me and my family Spartan, my girls seem a lot more upbeat and cheerful ever since you bonded with them" she said to John

"They are good girls Miss Lima..." John replied.

"You can call me Adriana, I think of you as a good friend to me and my family. I haven't felt this happy ever since Marko died, and I know the other Angels who I know were married or engaged are hurting too. So thank you for being here" she said.

"You're welcome."

Adriana smiled and soon the beeping came from the Spartan's watch, telling him that he had to return to the Tower soon and Adriana nodded sadly.

"I see they wished you to come back...make sense since considering how... important you are to the world and all" she said.

"I'm not that comfortable with it to be honest."

She smiled at that and replied.

"And this is why I respect you, even with something like this that most men dream of in their lives, you are more controlled and focused as well as respectful than them. I will admit that I do find you attractive and more since I am a woman still even as a mother with two daughters. My daughters like you and at times...they ask me if I am ever going to ask you out on a date" she explained.

"I see..." John muttered

"Well. I don't plan to rush it just yet...you lived a hard life and I don't want to impose on you on that matter unless you are all right with that. Anyway...thank you for accepting my invitation and making me feel happy to be around a man again and becoming friends with my daughters" Adriana replied.

"You're welcome."

As soon as the tea was finished, Adriana and John moved to the outside of her home as John was now going to ride on a Warthog that was outfitted for civilian use. Adriana however asked something of him.

"Spartan...if...I...look at me, acting like a school girl..." Adriana said to herself.

"Yes?" John asked

"If...I was...to one day ask for you to help me have a child again...would you agree with it?" Adriana said.

"if you wish to ask me to donate my sperm to you in a sperm bank, I don't see why not" John replied

"No... not that way... the... traditional way, if you know what I mean?" Adriana said.

John had an accurate idea on what she was driving at though he was still a bit surprised at that request. But wondered just how to answer that one. Still he decided he might as well be honest and take it from there.

"I do trust you Miss Lima, and if you trust me... well... once everything works out, then yes, I would agree to it" he said.

That made Adriana blush and she moved in and kissed the Spartan, not caring if anyone saw that since they had actually kept their conversation out of earshot by whispering to one another in Serbian something that John was fluent in per his training and also Adriana due to her time with her former husband Marko. But this kiss was very potent as Adriana used her tongue on the kiss and John, while caught off guard responded in kind. The kiss lasted for a while and soon they parted very reluctantly on Adriana's part and soon they bid each other farewell... and there was a lot to think on.

Unaware that the whole kiss if not the conversation leading to it was recorded.

...

The next day, Adriana went in to location for a new photoshoot with her fellow Angels, she found her friends all giving her glances and looking at their phones and whispering to one another.

"What are you all staring at me for?" Adriana asked.

Alessandra sighed before replying "Well, it seems you are the luckiest girl in the world" she said as she held up her phone showing a TMZ video of Adriana and the Spartan kissing each other with passion. Adriana had the good sense to blush before saying "I'm not sure, the Spartan will like this" she stammered.

"Well, he certainly looked like he was enjoying himself" Behati remarked "So, what was it like?" she asked with a wicked smirk on her lips.

Adriana blushed and looked away "Come on, Adri! You can't hide this from us!" Lily declared "We'll just keep pestering you until you give us the juicy details" she said.

"No comment" Adriana replied smiling to herself.

"Oh come on! We gotta know what the Spartan is like at kissing! We need to know all the dirt!" Behati pleaded "If you don't tell us right now, we'll... we'll hold you down and tickle you until you do!" she threatened.

"You wouldn't" Adriana said almost smugly.

All the Angels looked at each other before looking at Adriana with the evilest smiles the Brazilian brunette had ever seen and it was a few seconds before she bolted, running away screaming as her friends chased after her laughing maniacally to themselves. Adriana was soon cornered and her friends held her down and tickled her mercilessly until she pleaded them to stop, crying from laughing so hard.

"Feel like talking yet?" Candice asked mildly as she gently traced the sole of Adriana's foot with a fingertip; Adriana whimpered in defeat and they let her go.

"He was... really good" Adriana then admitted.

"Did you initiate the kiss?" Alessandra asked and Adriana nodded in reply.

"Was there... any tongue involved?" Behati asked wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, Adriana blushed "I knew it! I knew there was tongue involved!" Behati crowed triumphantly.

"Anything else you can tell us?" Candice asked.

"He was really nice" Adriana said "He was good with my daughters" she added with a smile and the Angels made cooing noises at the thought of the tough super-soldier being around two children.

"So what else did you talk about with him?" Candice asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say" Adriana replied mysteriously with a knowing smile.

"So you wouldn't mind if one of us had a turn with him?" Behati asked curiously. Adriana looked at the African native in surprise; a part of Adriana wanted to tell Behati to back off, but she quickly remembered that Behati was hurting as well with the loss of her husband Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and she spoke

"No, I don't mind" she replied "It's not too serious at this point" she said "But... we'll see" she added.

"Oh I've got some good ideas how to show the Spartan a good time" Behati said with an evil wicked smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes.

"Don't be too forward with him" Adriana advised "If you saw the newspapers about him, then you'll know that he doesn't open up very easily" she said "He is a soldier and part of a war that was extremely traumatising" she added.

"I know" Behati replied "I won't be too forward with him" she said "I'll just show him a good time, that's all" she added.

...

The TMZ news report of the Spartan and Adriana kissing each other circulated around the world. Many lamented the fact that the model had gotten the chance to kiss him while some others vowed revenge. The news had even reached the Justice League and their reactions were mixed.

"Lucky bitch!" Helena muttered darkly.

"Take it easy, Huntress" Dinah said to her "Adriana is probably hurting from the loss of her ex" she added.

"I guess" Helena admitted "But still... to be John's first kiss" she said "Makes me wonder what it was like" she added wistfully.

"We'll each get our chance to be with him soon enough" Shayera said reassuringly.

"But still, it pisses me off that one of us didn't get to be John's first kiss" Helena muttered.

"He doesn't belong to us" Diana said "John is his own person, not some prize to be had" she added.

"I know" Helena replied.

"I agree with Diana" Zatanna said " John isn't some prize to be had, he's a soldier, his own person" she added "And if we all start treating him like a prize, he'll resent us for it" she then said.

"God forbid we let that happen" Karen said "But still, this means we gotta try a little harder" she added.

"Well, I would like to think that I have the best chance with him" Zatanna quipped "I did 'help' him" she smiled secretively.

"Yeah, we know" Kara muttered "But all's fair in love and war" she then said.

"May the best woman win" Mari said.

"En garde" Shayera said.

Now the race was on to see which of them would get the chance to be with John.

Helena or rather the Huntress was not in the best of moods due to the current fire fight she and John were in. She was not in Gotham but in the Colorado Rockies due to the fact that the new all-female Mafia had set up shop in hiding weapons and supplies in the old mines to hide them. Ever since the deaths of all men on Earth, including the leaders of all the known crime families, female criminals had taken centre stage and many of them while not as ruthless as their male counterparts, were still deadly. This group still did weapons trafficking and had hidden their caches here.

She managed to take down a number of them while John retaliated in kind armed with his MA5C Assault Rifle and carried a M90A Shotgun for close quarters combat. As per protocol he did not use lethal shots but incapacitating ones, which was why he used a mix of regular rounds with TTRs. The reasons for the regular rounds were to counter body armour. Some of the now all female mafia had that so they were dropped first.

"This is going along well enough!"

Helena spoke sarcastically while firing another arrow to make a thug drop her weapon in pain before moving in to knock her out.

"So and so... Innies were better than this" the Spartan remarked.

And John was not kidding, in comparison to the Insurrectionists, the mafia were not able to hold their own, still he was not one to look down on his enemies regardless of who they were. On John's bac was an Armoured Rucksack that carried not only spare ammunition as well as some food and medical supplies but a survival kit. Normally John did not have this as part of his kit, but he felt that considering their location and his own experiences in fighting in places like this both in training and against both the Covenant and Insurrection, better to have supplies on hand.

However just as things were wrapping up, one of the mafia accidentally discharged her weapon into a cache of grenades and it caused a massive explosion, one that John quickly shielded Helena from with his own form and it shook the cave foundations badly as Cortana shouted.

"The cave's losing structural integrity!"

Helena was soon dropping down as the floor gave way...she managed to used her crossbow to fire a grappling hook but the explosion also cracked the roof that allowed a large amount of melted glacial water to come down like a water fall and hit the hanging heroine in a deluge of super chilled water. Thus making her gasp in shock and her hook fell loose and she was hit on the shoulder by some debris making her gasp in pain. She was about to hit the lower floor until John managed to fly in and rescue with his armour's jet thrusters.

She was freezing as John managed to check the wound, no broken skin but no doubt she had a cracked shoulder blade. Helena tried to walk it off and John did his best to watch over her until they got out from the area as no doubt the cache had gone up in smoke and debris. They had to get out and get Helena healed.

...

As the two moved to find a way out of the tunnel network, John kept a close eye on the injured heroine...checking her vital signs with the MJOLNIR. The dunk in the water from the destroyed wall from the explosion was already affecting Helene and in her injured state, she could be in worse trouble. Cortana was in agreement on the matter as she was still inside John's MJOLNIR.

"Helena's vitals are not looking good John, core temperature is not going well, she might need to slow down, if she's not careful she can go to hypothermia" she said to John.

"Agreed."

Sure enough John and Cortana soon saw a spike in the woman's temperature and it was not good, the shivering she did only adding fuel to the fire and Cortana finally spoke.

"Chief, we have to stop and help Helena dry and get warm, the cave temperature and the cold air coming in from some of the shafts too small for us to fit through are only making it worse! I'll go to the Tower and call for support while you help Helena!" she warned.

"Can you make it?" John asked.

"Yes, the tight beam transfer is more than able to handle it, but we won't be able to contact you once I am out of the armour. I will get them the location and find the best way to contact you once we're on the ground, I'll make sure to have either Karen or Kara to be with us to find you" Cortana replied.

"Good."

John approached the shivering Italian beauty and told her what Cortana and him had decided to do, she was not sure that she liked what they were planning but she also saw that they did not have a whole lot of options. Cortana soon bit them farewell and they managed to reach a large enough area in the cave system and there was some water there. John quickly dug into his pack and removed some food, wake up stims, water, some spare heating rods, a first aid kit and a special heat blanket used to trap and retain heat, used for survival missions in cold areas as well when temperature gear was not working.

As soon as he got that sorted, he took the heating rods, bunched them together and ignited them, creating a strong heat source but he knew that with Helena's wet body and clothing he would need to share body heat.

"Helena, we need to get you warm because of Hypothermia" he said to her.

Helena however managed to nod as the cold feeling on her was getting stronger by the second and she knew what Hypothermia was. She however was getting really cold and could not do much, and her still aching injuries did not make it any easier either. Thus she was caught off guard when John began to remove his armour as soon as he was done taking out a survival bag and heated some water with what appeared to be heating tabs on the water bottles and getting a survival roll bed there on the ground near the heating rods.

"W-What...are you...d-d-doing?" she asked through chattering teeth.

"Getting out of armour, you need body heat to not go into shock" John replied.

Helena could only stare as John was now stripped fully naked and took out the foil blanket and soon moved to gently but firmly remove her clothing. She gave a startled squawk at this but was still shivering too much to coherently resist for a moment or two until.

"H-H-Hey!" she squawked.

John however gently replied.

"I have to do to this, my MJOLNIR can help regulate my temperature, yours does not. I will not hurt you" he explained.

Soon Helena was fully naked and John soon took her into an embrace and she felt her body which was cold suddenly be surrounded by warmth...John's warmth and she QUICKLY hugged the man without hesitation, revelling in the closeness between them. John quickly wrapped the blanket around them and took Helena to the nearby bed and lay her down gently and soon her chattering teeth stopped and she soon spoke as John gently ran his hands on her body, warming her up VERY nicely.

"T-Thanks..." she said through her shivers.

"No problem...Cortana will be getting help while I help you recover...it might take a while though" John replied.

Helena smiled and replied while getting closer to John.

"I don't mind..." she said.

They stayed like this for a while until Helena moved to snuggle closer, rubbing her body on John's just a bit...she soon felt John shudder a bit...and she gasped when she realized this his manhood was now right in between her thighs...right underneath her sex and when she moved it actually...rubbed on her own...that made her blush and moan even more. John did not react too much though he ran his hands still to warm her up, but soon those hands rubbed on the sides of her more than well-formed breasts which made her moan a bit more.

"mmmm..."

"Helena...you all right?" John asked in concern.

She looked to see him staring at her with confusion and she smiled.

"I'm fine... better than fine... keep that up please" she replied.

John did just that and unwittingly was now being shown just how to caress Helena's breasts well and she felt his body move a bit more, rubbing her sex's outer lips with his own length which was soon reacting to her own movements. She blushed deeply and soon gently kissed John on the lips.

John was surprised that he was being kissed by Helena and took a moment or two to respond. He recalled the kiss with Adriana and decided to at least try and find out what Helena liked since she and Adriana were two different people. He soon moved to kissing her back, gently running his tongue on her lips slowly testing to see her response. And Helena responded by opening her mouth a little and that seemed like a good sign for him. he soon began to use his tongue, having noted that it was considered a good thing, and despite not spending a lot of time with Helena in particular, she was a good person regardless of history.

He kissed her a bit more gently and then alternating between aggressively and through some internal instinct in his male psyche, he moved his hands which were on her breasts slowly.

Helena broke the kiss a bit and spoke...

"Ooh...that feels good...just like that..." she moaned.

John nodded and carried on while Helena kissed him again and moved her body allowing his manhood to rub on her sex again, making her body all the more heated as John continued to kiss her. She admired the fact he was being methodical and calm about it, not going all out like a hormone driven teenager. He wanted to see and feel what she liked and give it to her in spades and she loved that. Soon they had a bit of a tongue duel and John was quick to find out the right way of kissing Helena and her reaction was telling as she moaned really loud into his mouth... it only got better when he managed to caress her bust just the way she liked it.

This heated exchange carried on for a while longer and already Helena was getting wet at this. John however managed to recover his wits and gently stopped Helena.

"Wh-What...?" she asked.

"Helena...I think we should slow down a bit...you're still injured" he said

Helena wanted to argue but seeing how serious John was agreed, though she did take into account that he had a point, already the pain was back again and it would be a real pain on her if she injured herself even more until they got to the Tower for medical treatment.

As they parted very reluctantly, Helena couldn't help but smile at John, admiring his looks as her body was no longer cold, but now burning hot in both warm and arousal... definitely arousal.

"You're right... sorry about that. But was it...?" she asked.

"It was unexpected...but not bad at all" John replied.

Helena chuckled a bit and decided to just enjoy the closeness for now.

"Good..." she said with a smile.

(Because I plan to make sure we get to the real fun parts when the time is right.)

Hours later John got up and checked her injury and used some pain killers to dull the pain and have them drink some water. John also got the inner body suit back and used the heat rods that were still burning hot to dry Helena's clothing, just in time for Karen and Kara as well as the others in the League to come in... only to see John there getting his armour on and Helena drinking some hot water, while wearing ONLY the blanket as her clothes were drying. Cortana had already filled them in on what happened on the mission but apparently they had NO idea what happened in the period after Cortana arrived.

Helena smiled at that and spoke.

"Hey, what took you so long?" she asked.

...

As soon as they arrived on the Watchtower and John had gone to his room, Karen was quick to interrogate Helena "Okay, spill! What happened between you and John!" she said sternly.

"Not as much as I would like" Helena admitted "But, it was pretty close to happening" she said wistfully.

"So you and John didn't... you know" Kara trailed away.

"Almost but not quite" Helena replied "But I can already tell that he'd be awesome in bed!" she said with a dreamy sigh.

"So what was it like?" Mari asked.

"It was pretty good" Helena admitted "I hadn't felt that way in a long time" she said "But he did stop because I might've inured myself more" she added grumpily.

"But you wanted to continue" Diana said as though it weren't a question and Helena nodded and replied

"Oh I definitely wanted to continue and then some" the Italian brunette said "I would've gone all the way with him" she added with a sinful smile.

"Well, looks like you're gonna have to wait" Dinah said smiling which made Helena give the blonde a deadpan look which made Dinah smirk in response.

John was busy running some work alongside Karen Starr, or rather Power Girl (Stuck to the original costume), the cousin of Superman from another reality, it still made him and Cortana very curious on this whole business of her being Clark's cousin from another reality. Cortana blasted him with a number of theories but overall they just... how did Johnson say it... ah yes, roll with it.

No sense thinking on this as he had work to do. Said work happened to be keeping any more criminals from causing trouble, mostly female criminals to be sure. But so far rumours of Lex Luthor being alive and recovering made Karen growl, and the same sentiment lay with most of the League members, the most vocal being Kara. John would have been confused had it not been for the fact that Cortana given him the heads up on who Luthor was and what history he had with the League, which apparently anything but nice.

But since he was among the few men alive... he was under government protection for the time being, a fact that did not sit well with the League but they could do nothing.

Karen was not in the best of moods as apparently Luthor or Mercy had been lax in housekeeping as some of the thugs carried weapons made by Luthor and so she gave them a serious reason to rethink their stance. As soon as they were taken away and the media had a bit of a field day with them chatting, she had to sigh when a huge number of women bombarded John with all manner of questions, John took it all in as best he could until she managed to butt in and have John move out since they still had a patrol run to finish.

Later…

"By Rao that was tiring!"

Karen sighed as she sat on the edge of a sky scraper and enjoying the feel of the air coming in, it was fairly sunny but a cold wind blasted through so it was not bad. next to her John was taking in tings while working on his BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle to clean it and on his back with his MA5C Assault Rifle all of which were fully loaded. He then finished and took out a bottle of cold juice from his Armoured Rucksack and gave it to Karen who smiled at the gesture.

"Thanks, really need something nice to drink!" she said gratefully.

As she popped off the cap and drank the cold liquid John sat nearby to observe the place though he did find himself looking at her as she drank, for reasons that were still a bit off of the Spartan's understanding, he could not help but find Power Girl's drinking of the liquid appealing. He shook himself mentally and focused on watching the city. As soon as Karen was done with her drink she looked at John and spoke to him since she knew that they did not have anything else to do since it would be a long while before any new crime would happen.

"Say John, care to come with me to relax a bit?" she asked.

John did not reply though his posture was enough to tell the Kryptonian woman that he was listening and she decided to press that to her advantage.

"I need a break you know Chief...a little R&R, but...I guess it's kind of hard to do that if you're lonely and all. So do you want to come along to a beach I know of?" she asked.

John thought about that and recalled that there was only one time he was able to unwind prior to the war he fought in, and that was at Emerald Cove and he was eager to do that again.

"Sure...let me get out of armour" he replied.

...

Karen was utterly giddy as she and John were at the beach she knew of in question and she was giddy for a reason, John had gone without his Armor on as he said and was now wearing only a pair of swimming trunks which hugged his hips VERY well, showing ALL the wonderful details. She on the other hand was wearing a simple two-piece string bikini and thong which was white showing ALL of her wonderful assets and form. And while John was not ogling her like any normal red blooded male did like perverts, he did show a level of healthy appreciation for her form. Of course she was ogling him in kind as well since his form was presented to her in all the delicious glory... shame he was not fully naked.

This was one time she wished they were at a nude beach or something but not that she was going to complain, she was actually impressed by the fact that John knew how to surf! She was not seeing things or dreaming them up as she was looking at John catching waves and actually very god as a surfer. When he stopped she moved up to him and asked where he learned to do that to which he gave a slight smile, very slight, and replied.

"Emerald Cove" he said with a hint of nostalgia.

"Where's that?" Karen asked.

John then revealed that in part of the training as a Spartan II, Mendez had taken them to a colony for underwater training which was also similar to their EVA training. For added kick he sabotaged their tanks. And in retaliation, they took his and managed to escape for a few days... roasting clams, surfing, lighting bonfires and generally being kids again. Mendez was less than amused, but John had a feeling that his mentor was privately pleased they had taken the initiative on how to fight back when it counted.

Karen could not help but smirk, it was... priceless to hear that he actually had a very hidden rebellious streak in him, proof that despite his indoctrination and conditioning, John was not devoid of any form of being a young human with a disobedient streak. And she liked the fact that even if he was not expressing it as openly as others would have in his situation, he was indeed enjoying himself an she was certainly enjoying himself but now had a VERY interesting idea since the sun was up.

As she lay down on the nearby towel she had on hand for this, she got out a bottle of sun screen and spoke to John.

"Say Chief, can you put some sun screen on me?" she asked.

John was a bit confused by that but decided that there was no harm in that and nodded, which delighted Karen immensely as she decided to loosen her two piece a bit and then lay down on the blanket. And soon she felt his hands on her body, rubbing the sun screen on. She knew that it would take a while before he would go to unknown territory but she was willing to wait. However, she was in for a VERY interesting surprise!

And what was that?

When John found a knot in her muscles, namely on her shoulders and realized that she was actually suffering from tension in her body, no doubt the stress of taking over her cousin's duties and whatnot alongside Kara were the cause. So he figured he might do something about it, and began to massage her, he took the time to do it right since he had to keep in mind that human appearance and form aside, Karen and her cousin were not human so he had to be careful.

But Karen's moans of appreciation were enough to tell him that he was on the right track and so he continued with his massage work and already he could feel the knots and hard areas of her body becoming loose and more limber and he soon found a cluster of nerves that he began to gently press and rub...unaware that he had just hit one of Karen's pleasure centres... a special place that even she had NO idea was there.

"Oooooohhhhhh..."

The moan she gave was interesting to John but he carried on with his massaging, locating a few more areas on Karen from her back, to her hips, then to her thighs, and to her calves. He even rubbed her posterior as well making the beautiful blonde REALLY get into the spirit of things.

Karen was in heaven! She had NO idea she was this tense and knotted at all and John was now making her feel more limber and alive with his massages finding out ALL the right ways to make her relax. But when he found that pleasure centre on her body that she had NO idea about...all bets were off! She was now putty in is hands and he didn't even notice!

It was so unfair... but oooh so good!

Karen was moaning a bit more now as John had turned the sun screen applying into one very delicious rub down and when his fingers were close to her sex when he massaged her inner thighs she felt herself get really hot and bothered. She looked at John and smiled at him while speaking.

"More...just like that...ahhhhhh..."

The blonde was really into it and when he moved back to her ribs she felt his fingers caress her bust JUST a bit...but enough to make her very excited and before she could stop herself she turned and spoke to John in rather husky way,, uncaring for the fact she was literally topless before him. John was caught a bit off guard by that but calmed down as she took the bottle in hand and gently poured more into her hands and soon began to rub her hands on his body as well.

"You did great...I had NO idea I was that tense...ow it's my turn..."

John was still caught off guard but was not stopping her so Karen continued with her actions and began to rub her hands on his form enjoying the now sleek feel of him on her hands from the sun screen. And she soon told John to do the same thing to her front his time. John gave a slightly raised eyebrow at that as what she suggested was pretty much a serious action. But seeing that she seemed all right with that idea, he decided to go forward with it and soon Karen moaned as he was now caressing her body at the front.

Starting at her stomach, then her sides, and then her more than ample bust. Any man who looked at her breasts as well as her body and not her face usually got slugged for that...but not John since it was clear that he was not going to do anything she would not consent to. And that was something that she REALLY enjoyed, even more so when the Spartan was rubbing her nude body in a very calm and thorough fashion finding all the right places to touch. John was very careful to keep in mind that Karen was her own person in reaction terms to stimulus so he had to be very serious in looking for those spots. Once he got the hang of it he continued with his actions and already his body was reacting.

Even more so when Karen moved closer and SAT on his lap, allowing his manhood to be right underneath her own sex...rubbing it in the right way that made her smile like a maniac as she soon rubbed her sleek body on his own sleek one adding some REAL heat to the mix. And when she kissed him he was caught off guard for a brief moment before he responded, and like with his actions before he was able to find that she had her own reactions to his kissing her, gently sucking on her tongue a bit which was actually arousing the Kryptonian blonde.

Thus the VERY sinful session of rubbing their bodies together was getting all the more heated as their tongue duel continued...Karen was THIS close to jumping him right now...

But then her ears picked up the sounds of explosions and cries for help...and as much as her primal female side was SCREAMING at her to ignore that and let the others handle it, she could not do it. So she reluctantly backed away and saw that even with his expressionless look John's eyes were showing confusion and was it... hurt?

"Did I do something wrong Karen?" he asked calmly.

That coupled with his look was actually making her feel guilty but she shook her head and replied.

"No, I just heard more trouble rearing their ugly heads again... so... I really wish we could carry on, but we're needed."

John nodded and replied.

"I understand; we can catch up afterwards with this situation if you wish. This was very relaxing."

Karen blushed and grinned. She had EVERY intention to do just that!

But duty called.

However, she had no doubt that her little escapade would NOT go unnoticed by the others.

And it was not...for when the explosions happened, the others in the Tower went to find her and contact her...and had seen her with John on said beach with their cameras...and had seen EVERYTHING...with Cortana merely laughing in utter amusement the whole while!

"Okay, spill!" Shayera barked at Karen who replied

"I merely took John out to a private beach and I asked him to put some sunscreen on me and we got a little carried away" the blonde Kryptonian explained "If it weren't for those explosions, John and I would've certainly done more than just grinding against each other" she said.

"Good thing too" Helena muttered under her breath but she gave an innocent smile when Karen gave her a death glare.

"But still, if it weren't for those explosions, it'd be a safe bet that John and I would've gotten down and dirty" Karen then said "And he offered to catch up on the situation at a later date" she added with a grin.

"Not if I get him first" Helena muttered mutinously.

"Please, we don't need to fight over one guy" Zatanna put in "No matter how much we want to get into his pants" she then said.

"Zatanna's right" Diana said "If we let our hormones dictate our actions, we'll only end up bitter towards one another and tear the League apart" she added "None of us want that!" she then said.

The rest of the League nodded in agreement although none of them had any intention of giving up on trying to be with John.

...

Cortana was watching over the League and also her Spartan and so far while John was getting more used to such contact and becoming less rigid and open, there was growing tension among the ladies. And all of it was over her caveman and while it was amusing to an extent she was well aware that this was asking for trouble. Even more so since the ladies were all heroines who were the only people that stood against the other female villains and other potential surviving male villains of this world. She was also aware that as it stood, there were threats outside of Earth that they had to face sooner or later, and they could ill afford to be fighting one another for John.

She knew her protector's mind and heart and knew that he had begun to trust the League members as they had begun to reach out to him and already there were bonds forming between him and them, each bond was unique and different and yet undeniably growing. And he takes such bonds seriously, after all... he had lost a lot in the war to save mankind from the Insurrection, the Covenant, the Flood, and the Covenant Loyalists, to have them fighting over him was a foreign and yet painful concept for John.

And the reason was because he valued team work, friendships, trust, and in this case, the lives of those he cares for, so the idea of them breaking up because of him was something John did not want, and it could result in even greater friction between the League should it reach a point that they start becoming more hostile over him. And she had another reason for being concerned.

Rampancy and the fact that she was pretty much dying, she feared what could happen if she 'died' and no one could support John through this. She loved John in her own way but knew that she was not going to live for much longer. She knew him better than anyone, having been in his mind both when he was awake and when he slept, and she was his last link to his past and his closest friend and more... his partner. There may be a way she could be saved... but on the off chance she could not...

Then John was on his own... and in some ways... that was more frightening since John was now cut adrift... even if he continued to do what he could for the people here... he was still very much alone and while opening up to the ladies of the League... they still did not know him that well. But she decided that it was time to get them all together for one very important discussion.

...

The League were surprised when all of them were in the meeting hall when the doors closed and the place was on a bit of a lockdown. They were about to panic a bit as this was like when the Injustice Gang attacked the Tower in the past, but then Cortana appeared to them and spoke.

"Relax, I had you all come here to chat, but I don't want to have John find out about it right now. Caveman's busy working on his Armor and one of his rides so now we have time to chat" the UNSC AI said to them

Diana spoke next.

"What's this about Cortana?" she asked.

Cortana leaped off the pedestal and turned to a full human avatar and spoke to them all.

"It's about the ongoing cat-fight that's brewing between you all over John, now while I KNOW this is something to be expected, and some competition is healthy, there IS a limit to how that can go. And right now you all are reaching that threshold in various degrees. I'm not saying that you should stop being close to John, Lord knows he needs to unwind, but suddenly becoming hostile to one another over him is NOT a good thing. I've seen the growing cracks here and no doubt some if not all of you do too...and so does John."

She looked at them seriously and spoke again.

"He might not show it...but I know his mind, he sees it too, granted he does not understand the whole jealousy concept just yet, but he can feel it. Don't underestimate his ability to see things in ways even I can't and I've worked with him for years. He's developing bonds with you all already or haven't you all noticed?" she asked

Dinah spoke.

"Bonds?" she asked.

"Yes, he trusts you, ALL of you and while not as openly, it's there, he's taken a very big risk in his own way in trusting you all. Why else would he reveal to say Karen the one time he and his fellow Spartans rebelled against Mendez? Because he is showing a bit more trust in you, same applies with the fact he is even allowing you to use his name... all of you to be honest. Spartans are VERY private and introverted people, they trust only those they know and consider family. The very fact he even agreed to reveal himself to you all out of his armour and use his first name is a sign of great trust and acceptance...and he severely dislikes something that causes friction and pain with those he trusts...how do you think will he react when he finds out that the reason for the tension is himself?"

Cortana sighed a bit and opened a screen to show John working on his Armor...

"John's a big lug, and to be honest, he may very well be the last of the Spartan IIs alive, he's lost a lot, friends, family, and those who he calls allies. He has sacrificed a lot for our reality's Humanity and in light of the alliance we have with the Separatists when we left, he has done all he could to safeguard ALL of creation from the Flood and Halo Arrays. He may or may not show it but he is still feeling without purpose in a sense, all his life he has known warfare, pain, loss, sacrifice, and of course discrimination. Some of our own people as you know consider him a freak, a monster, and at his core a broken individual. Hell, one of our own UNSC officers actually tried to get him killed in a trial run when I was first paired with him. But they are merely people looking at the outside... at the armour... not the man underneath all of it. You all have no idea how lucky you are, not that you're not already or anything, but I mean lucky in a sense that he is trusting you. Do not break his trust in you by fighting each other over him... doing that will hurt him far more."

"He will feel resentment...but he will not resent you...but himself" Cortana finished.

"Why?" Karen asked.

"Because of the decisions he made, the most painful ones that led to the deaths of those he called friends, and allies...he will tell you in his own time. He will resent himself because the idea of being the cause of in fighting is painful to him in ways I hope he never has to feel. He feels great guilt for the lives he could not save even if he knows that sometimes, he can't save everyone, don't add to the guilt he has by fighting and making him realize that he is the cause of this" Cortana explained.

"And I need you all to be there for him...because I doubt I can be for much longer" the Ai then said.

Barbara spoke next.

"What do you mean?" the redhead asked.

"Smart A.I like me, we have a limit, we may have the ability to grow and expand beyond what we are in terms of programming... but we pay a price, our life expectancy is far shorter. You see... all Smart A.I like me go... rampant after seven years, literally thinking ourselves to death, and I am not meta-stable right now after eight years. I can feel myself slowly breaking apart, after the first Halo, being... essentially raped by the Gravemind mentally for answers, and being isolated for so long, I can feel myself slipping. There will come a time I may lose myself, become more aggressive, I… might even end up harming John or... killing him somehow as I go mad. I will NOT let it come to that. I will rather self-terminate than become the one to harm him as he protects me I will protect him...even from myself. There...may be a cure here, but I do not want to reach for something that may not even be real."

She looked seriously at them now.

"So when the time comes... for me to die... promise me you all are going to help him recover and heal for my sake... and his. Because when I do go... all of you will be all he has left."

And Cortana left, allowing the League to be free and think on what she said.

As Cortana left, the League then began to discuss what they were just told.

"I can't imagine how hard it will be for John to lose Cortana" Kara said "They've been through so much" she added.

"And given that he's sacrificed so much, it'll be hard form to cope with that" Mari said "And here we are acting like petty school children over him" she added bitterly.

"Maybe there's a way we can keep Cortana alive" Dinah said "I'm sure STAR Labs can help us" she added.

"How would we explain that to STAR Labs?" Helena asked "They might very well take advantage of Cortana and do things to her!" she said.

"Okay, there are some at STAR Labs who might wanna take advantage of Cortana, but it's our best option of keeping Cortana alive" Dinah replied.

"What could STAR Labs do to help Cortana?" Diana asked.

"Maybe they could create a body for her so she can live a few more years" Karen suggested "Kara and I have access to some tech at the Fortress that might be able to help" she said "Plus I'm a computer programmer, I might be able to help Cortana" she added.

"We'll get to that in a moment" Shayera said "Right now we need to stop acting like jealous teenagers over a man and start acting civil towards each other" she added.

"Shayera's right" Zatanna put in "We need to be more considerate of John's feelings, if he sees the tension we have with each other over him, he might very well leave" she said "And I don't think any of us want that to happen" she added.

"So, do we all agree to a truce?" Kara asked and everyone nodded their agreement.

To be continued…